VOA标准英语2013--五角大楼警告意在避免预算僵局

 

Pentagon's Warnings Intend to Avert¹ Budget Standoff 五角大楼警告意在避免预算僵局

PENTAGON — U.S. Defense² Secretary Chuck Hagel this week unleashed³ a new campaign to break the U.S. budget impasse⁴ that triggered the recent massive automatic cuts known as "sequestration." Hagel had a list of specific areas where U.S. defense will suffer if Congress and the Obama administration do not reach a budget deal soon.

五角大楼电——美国国防部长查克·黑格这周发起了一项旨在打破美国预算僵局的被称为“隔离”的运动，它将引起大量自动削减。如果国会和奥巴马政府没有尽快达成预算协议，黑格清楚在哪些地方美国国防将遭受（困难）。

Among the things to go could be three of the 11 U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups.

11艘航空母舰打击群中的三艘也将面临即将到来的削减。

For months, the Defense Department had been issuing dire⁵ warnings about the weakening effect that massive, automatic cuts to the defense budget would have on the U.S. armed forces.  

这几个月，国防部已发布了可怕的警告：这些大量自动的国防预算削减将对美国武装部队产生弱化作用。

This week, Defense secretary Chuck Hagel laid out some options, with specifics.   

这周，国防部长查克·黑格详细地陈列了一些选择项。

“In the first approach, we would trade away size for high-end capability⁶. This would further shrink the active Army to between 380,000 to 450,000 troops, reduce the number of carrier strike groups from 11 to 8 or 9, draw down the Marine⁷ Corps⁸ from 182,000 to between 150,000 and 175,000, and retire older Air Force bombers,” said Hagel.

“第一个方法：我们将削减高端武器装备的数量。进一步削减现役军人数量至380000到450000之间；减少航母打击群的数量：从11艘到8至9艘；将海军陆战队兵力从182000削减至150000到175000左右；最后，退役老旧的空军轰炸机。”黑格说。

The second option would be to maintain a large force - with the accompanying high costs of health care and other benefits - and put off investing in new weaponry.  

第二个选择：在高成本的卫生保健和其他福利条件下保持庞大的军力，推迟新武器的投资。

“The basic trade-off is between capacity measured in the number of army brigades, navy ships, air force squadrons, and marine battalions⁹ and capability - our ability to modernize¹⁰ weapons systems and maintain our military's technological¹¹ edge,” said Hagel.

“基本的削减是在对陆军部队、海军舰队、空军编队、海军陆战队营和武器装备的数量估计容量之间——我们使武器系统现代化的能力和保持我们军事工艺优势的能力。”黑格说。

Some Pentagon officials prefer the option of cutting the size of the force and relying more on unmanned aerial vehicles - or drones - and special operations forces.

一些五角大楼行政人员偏向削减军队数量的选择，（以后）更多地依赖无人机、遥控飞机和特殊行动部队。

Defense budget analyst¹² Todd Harrison said regardless of whether the budget crisis is resolved, the Pentagon is due for massive reductions following the end of U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

国防预算分析家托德·哈里森说，不管预算危机是否能得到解决，随着伊战和阿富汗战争的美军介入的结束，国防部都应大量削减（预算）。

“Smaller is not necessarily worse if smaller means that you have better capabilities¹³ and you can do more with a smaller force. That is the big question mark here,” said Harrison.

“如果更小的规模意味着你有更好的能力，更小不一定就是更差；你可以利用更小规模的兵力做更多的工作。那才是这里的一个大问号。”哈里森说道。

The Pentagon's past warnings about the effects of sequestration went unheeded. The budget crisis continued, and the automatic cuts kicked in. Harrison said Hagel, by offering details of the effects, is trying to get Congress' attention.

国防部过去关于“隔离”运动影响的警告被忽视了。预算危机继续进行，那些自动削减开始发生。哈里森说，黑格通过提供这些影响的细节，正努力争取国会的注意。

“What I think Secretary Hagel was trying to do with this is reestablish some of that credibility by making more specific projections¹⁴ of what would be required under sequestration, rather than painting in broad strokes,” said Harrison.

“我认为，对此黑格正努力做的是：通过预测一些在“隔离”运动中会出现的更为具体的事物，而不是宽泛的描述，以恢复一些信誉。”哈里森说道。

Defense officials hope the warning pushes Congress and the Obama administration to break their budget impasse. 

国防部行政人员希望：这警告将促使国会和奥巴马政府打破他们的预算僵局。

1 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 battalions   

n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍

参考例句：

• God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。